“Because you’re so independent. I remember you want to be part of your dad’s business. Knowing how this world operates, I’m guessing your Flynn would assign you a bodyguard and you would never be allowed out on your own.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” I laugh out loud and Gloria stares at me with a serious expression. “I mean it, honey. This world is dangerous. It’s why we live under close protection. There are many enemies out there who will use you against him. You will become a target and he will do everything possible to keep you alive.”
I’m not liking this conversation and it must show on my face because she says gently, “Trust me, you need all the facts. I don’t know Flynn, but I understand the world he operates in. It’s hard, cruel, and violent, and it takes a special person to survive it.”
“You don’t think I can?”
I inject some steel into my voice, and she laughs out loud. “Of course, you can, but it won’t come without sacrifice. Take me, for instance.”
She looks across at her daughter and shakes her head sadly. “Sophia will never enjoy freedom. Her friends have been chosen based on their parentage and she will never be free to choose her own. Her life will be spent in a gilded cage, much like mine, and we sacrifice normal life for riches gained from misery. I’m not sure this will sit well with you, so consider it carefully before lust renders you blind.”
I know she is right, and I shake my head and sigh. “It’s not been that easy for me either, Gloria. Yes, I have my freedom, which I value above everything. But I have never really enjoyed that, anyway. I’m the daughter of a billionaire and have my own restrictions because of it. I’m included in other people’s lives because of who my father is, and I’m judged because of it. Any guys that head my way are doing so because of him. Since meeting Flynn, I finally understand what it’s like to be desired. He can’t fake that; I see it in his eyes. He’s as lost as I am, and we recognize that in one another. Maybe we won’t last the distance, but any distance at all is better than never experiencing what I feel when I’m with him.”
Gloria smiles softly and I see tears in her eyes. “I’m happy for you, Louisa. Really happy for you because love does have a habit of sweeping away any problems and making everything work.”
As Sophia screams with laughter, I notice for the first time a small bump in Gloria’s belly and shriek, “Oh my God, when?”
She looks down and laughs. “Six months. We already found out it’s a boy.” She rolls her eyes. “God help us.”
Thinking about Rodriguez, her husband, I must agree with her there. Dark, brooding, and dangerous, he could make the sun freeze and I’m hoping she sees a softer side to him because that man scares me to death.
We spend the next hour chatting about life, and I love every minute of it. Any time spent with my uncle and his daughters is a pleasure and now I have Flynn, I really do believe my life is complete.